The more, the merrier? Numerical strength versus subgroup distinctiveness in minority groups

Evidence attests to the efforts made by minority groups to defend and promote ‘distinctive’ attributes that potentially define the ingroup. However, these attributes are often only available to a prototypical minority within the minority category. In two studies we tested the hypothesis that, under certain conditions, large projected increases in the numerical strength of a ‘distinctive’ attribute (emotional intelligence in Study 1; ingroup language in Study 2) within a minority category can paradoxically evoke less-than-positive reactions from those who already have the attribute. Findings confirmed that while a large projected increase in the numerical strength of a ‘distinctive’ attribute was viewed positively when the comparative context focused on the inter-category relation with a majority outgroup, this increase was viewed less positively, and as undermining their own identity, in a narrower intra-category context. Implications for identity management strategies in minority groups are discussed.     

When fit fosters favoring: The role of private self-focus

The present research extends work on the ‘the value from fit’ principle by showing that regulatory fit effects on persuasion and behavioral compliance are stronger for people high, as opposed to low, in private self-focus. Previous research has shown that people high in private self-focus are strongly affected by external information. In the current work, we demonstrated that people high (vs. low) in private self-focus are more persuaded by information that matches (vs. mismatches) activated self-knowledge.     

Recognizing discrimination explicitly while denying it implicitly: Implicit social identity protection

Past research suggests that members of devalued groups recognize their groups are discriminated against. Do the implicit responses of members of these groups demonstrate the same pattern? We argue that they do not and that this is due to a motivated protection of members of devalued groups' social identity. Study 1 demonstrates that, at an explicit level African-Canadians recognize that their group is discriminated against, but at an implicit level African-Canadians think that most people like their group to a greater extent than do European-Canadians. Study 2 replicates this implicit finding with Muslim participants while demonstrating that, when affirmed, this group difference disappears. Study 3 demonstrates that implicit normative regard can predict collective action over and above implicit attitudes and explicit normative regard. The implications for changing the status quo are discussed.     

Everyday risk taking as a function of regulatory focus

Uncertainty is an inherent aspect of everyday life. However, faced with uncertainty, some individuals take risks more eagerly than others. Regulatory focus theory may explain such differences because risky behavior may arise naturally from the eagerness of promotion focused individuals, while safe behavior may arise naturally from the vigilance of prevention focused individuals. A highly relevant real-life context for studying risk is mobility, as engaging in traffic inherently carries uncertainty about negative outcomes. We present two studies showing a direct link between regulatory focus and risky behavior going beyond traditional laboratory approaches. In both naturalistic speeding behavior (Study 1) and simulated risk taking (Study 2) promotion focus was positively, and prevention focus was negatively related to actual risky behavior.     

Shared space: Different age groups’ perspectives

BackgroundShared spaces, in the context of road transport, often refer to areas shared by unprotected and protected road users and intended to facilitate a living city space for every-one. A basic idea behind shared spaces is to create traffic safety by inducing some uncertainty. This study investigates how young, middle-aged, and elderly pedestrians experience shared space, as well as whether and, if so, how two shared space designs (without and with large flowerpots) affect this experience.MethodThirty-seven participants, divided into three age groups, participated in the study, conducted in Fisherman’s Square, Västervik, Sweden. An adjacent non-signal-regulated pedestrian crossing was used as a control. Two studies – visual scanning and Q studies – were combined. In the visual scanning study, eye-tracking examined how the two designs affected the participants’ visual scanning behaviour (i.e., what participants looked at) as pedestrians. In the Q-study, Q-methodology was used to examine how the two designs affected the participants’ experiences as pedestrians.ResultsThe visual scanning study showed that different age groups were affected in different ways by designs without and with large flowerpots in the shared space. While the middle-aged participants always glanced more often at traffic-relevant objects, and young participants always glanced equally often at traffic-relevant and non-traffic-relevant objects, the elderly participants changed their visual scanning behaviour depending on the design. Without large flowerpots deployed, the elderly participants glanced more often at traffic-relevant than non-traffic-relevant objects. No such difference was obtained when large flowerpots were deployed. The Q-study showed that participants, regardless of age, experienced no great uncertainty in this shared space. The perceived uncertainty, which nevertheless existed, was reduced with large flowerpots deployed to recreate the traditional division with clear zones where pedestrians could stay in relatively car-free areas while motor vehicles had clear paths to travel along.ConclusionThe results suggest that shared space, without large flowerpots, succeeded in inducing some uncertainty, especially among middle-aged and elderly pedestrians. However, deploying large flowerpots seemed to decrease this uncertainty, especially among elderly pedestrians. The major concern prompted by these results is how this decreased uncertainty affects traffic safety. Shared space also needs to be studied from the car driver’s perspective to understand the interaction between different road user groups.     

居危思变?工作不安全感对创新行为的差异化影响?

企业往往在员工管理和组织创新上处于“两难困境”——难以提供稳定工作但又不得不依赖员工实现组织创新, 这就使得研究员工工作不安全感对创新行为的影响至关重要。企业员工遭遇不同环境威胁带来的工作不安全感时, 创新行为存在差异。本文在威胁焦点下深化工作不安全感概念, 并基于“以变量为中心”和“以人为中心”的研究思路, 探讨其对创新行为的差异化影响过程。首先, 结合环境威胁来源与主观感知, 把工作不安全感分为岗位焦点工作不安全感和人员焦点工作不安全感两个维度, 并将编制测量量表。其次, 期望运用纵向研究设计, 通过分析多时点的员工-主管配对数据, 基于情境调节焦点和工作激情的链式中介作用, 来揭示岗位焦点工作不安全感对创新行为的负向影响, 以及人员焦点工作不安全感对创新行为的倒U型影响。最后, 将采取“以人为中心”的研究思路, 运用潜在剖面分析方法探讨工作不安全感潜在类型及其对创新行为的影响。研究结果将有助于推进工作不安全感的概念和效用研究, 也为企业如何有效促进创新提供对策建议。     

记忆集对注意焦点转换及其返回抑制的影响

采用记忆更新任务,实验1要求被试分别更新3个和4个记忆项目,并设置不转换、控制转换和抑制转换条件,考察记忆集对注意焦点转换及其返回抑制的影响;实验2操纵两次更新同一记忆项目之间对其它记忆项目更新的次数（2次、3次及3次以上）,在实验1基础上,考察返回抑制中项目抑制状态的消退过程.结论：随记忆集增加,转换代价增大,而返回抑制效应消失;当注意焦点对其它记忆项目更新2次时,之前被抑制项目的抑制状态可完全消退.     

The object of my aggression: Sexual objectification increases physical aggression toward women

Objectification involves reducing someone to a sexual object, rather than seeing them as a full person. Despite numerous theoretical claims that people are more aggressive toward the objectified, and empirical evidence that objectification is linked to high willingness to aggress, rape proclivity, and aggressive attitudes, no research has examined a causal link between objectification and physical aggression, particularly in the context of provocation. In two experiments, we examined this predicted link. In Experiment 1, using a 2 (objectification: no/yes) × 2 (provocation: no/yes) factorial between‐subjects design, we investigated the effects of objectification, induced via body focus during a face‐to‐face interaction, and provocation on physical aggression toward a female confederate. Our results revealed a significant main effect of provocation, a marginal main effect of objectification, and a significant interaction between these variables. In the absence of a provocation, focusing on a woman's body increased aggression toward her. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using a video of a target woman instead of a face‐to‐face interaction. Again, our results showed a significant two‐way interaction between objectification and provocation, wherein objectification increased aggression in the absence of provocation. Overall, this research indicates that objectification can lead to heightened physical aggression toward objectified women.

     

Searching for certainty: Religious beliefs and intolerance toward value-violating groups

Religiosity has been consistently linked to prejudice toward a variety of outgroups. This article proposes that this is the case only when religiosity reflects a specific aspect of seeking guidance and security in daily practices and complex sociocultural norms. Outgroups that challenge the epistemic certainty that belief in God provides are rejected in an effort to protect this certainty. The results from two studies found that uncertainty avoidance was related to belief in God and this belief mediated the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and intolerance within the context of general human rights (Study 1), and the derogation of value-violating groups (e.g., homosexuals or followers of other religions) but not of groups that pose no threat to religious values (old or poor people) (Study 2). The interpretative dimension of religiosity (i.e., the way in which people process religious content) is not connected to security seeking, as reflected in the lack of a correlation with uncertainty avoidance and with different prejudice measures. The results are discussed in relation to past research on religiosity and prejudice, and suggest that for people who avoid uncertainty, only those types of religious beliefs that provide a sense of certainty are linked with intolerance toward value-violating groups.